Background: The goal of our work was to evaluate the activity of interleukin 1 beta, 6, 8, 12, and 18 in the amniotic fluid in preterm and term deliveries, and to specify the dependency between the amniotic fluid index (AFI) and the concentration of these interleukins.
Material and methods: Amniotic fluid (27 samples from preterm deliveries and 49 from term deliveries) was collected during cesarean section or in the course of amnioinfusion performed when the pregnancy was accompanied by oligohydramnios (AFI< or = 5cm). The amniotic fluid thus obtained was centrifuged at 1000 xg for 15 min. at a temperature of 4 degrees C, and the filtrate was kept at a temperature of -80 degrees C until assayed. The assays were done by the ELISA method, using ready antibody kits from 'R&D Systems'. A comparative analysis was done for the concentrations (expressed in pg/ml) of the individual interleukins found in the amniotic fluid from preterm and term deliveries, and for the amniotic fluid index (AFI< or = L5 and >5). The statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon test.
Results: The increased level of IL-12 we found in the amniotic fluid from preterm deliveries and those complicated by oligohydramnios may indicate the participation of immunological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of oligohydramnios.